Water is a polar molecule, meaning the electrons that are shared between the atoms aren't shared equally so oxygen attracts more electrons than hydrogen. What analogy best compares this?

Question

Chemistry

Pamela Calderon

7 March, 19:50

Water is a polar molecule, meaning the electrons that are shared between the atoms aren't shared equally so oxygen attracts more electrons than hydrogen. What analogy best compares this?

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Answers (1)

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Ariel Ferguson · Answer 1

Magnet with a positive and a negative pole

Explanation:

A great analogy to demonstrate what a polar molecule looks like is to imagine a magnet. A magnet has one positively charged end and one negatively charged end, two poles, that is.

Imagine that we have a magnet of a shape of a prism (water molecule has a bent shape). The two base vertices of the face of the triangle are positively charged, that's because hydrogen is less electronegative than oxygen and, hence, the two hydrogen atoms are partially positively charged in a water molecule.

Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen meaning it has a greater electron-withdrawing force, so electrons are closer to oxygen within the O-H bonds. Oxygen, as a result, becomes partially negatively charged, so it's our negative pole of the magnet.